Look for the Girl with a Broken Smile
by Maria Whitman-Menzel-Malfoy
Summary: Luna is the weird girl at school. And she and Ron like each other. At first, Luna is the coolest thing to happen to Hogwarts. Then, suddenly, her popularity plummets. More summary inside.
1. Luna Lovegood

Look for the Girl with a Broken Smile

Summary: Luna is the weird girl at school. She intruiges Hogwarts. Everyone loves her for a while. She and Ron grow very close and have a happy relationship. Then, suddenly and without warning, everyone hates her. Ron suggests she try being "normal" to try to win back the school. And she does. For him...

A/N: I wanted to do a Luna/Ron story because it's my second favorite non-canon pairing. The book "Stargirl" kinda gave me the inspiration for this one. Eccentric, out-there girl changes boring boy's life kinda story. Rated T because I can't count on my story being K-rated. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Stargirl. So ha. :P

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Luna Lovegood

Ron walked to the Great Hall with Harry on his right and Hermione on Harry's right like he did every day. As they rounded a corner, they paused upon seeing a figure staring up at the ceiling. They approached the figure, which turned out to be a girl.

"Hey," Harry said kindly.

He and Ron looked over the girl. Hermione's eyes flickered gently to the ceiling almost involuntarily.

"Oh, hello." She said to the trio without looking at them.

Her voice was soft and floaty, like clouds. She seemed different. Her skin was pale and smooth. She had waist-long, scraggly, blonde hair that Ron felt he could find flowers growing in, if he looked. She finally looked at them. Her eyes were large, and reflective. She had a permanent, wistful smile plastered to her face, but it didn't seem fake. She just seemed the type to smile a lot.

"What were you looking at?" Hermione asked, still trying not to look up at the ceiling.

The girl looked up, "There's a rumor of an unknown creature living up there in the eaves. I was trying to see if I could spot it."

Harry and Ron exchanged looks.

"What's your name?" Hermione asked sweetly.

"Luna Lovegood. I'm in Ravenclaw. I know who you are, Harry Potter." She said, looking at him.

Harry felt the need to take a step back. Her eyes seemed to swallow him whole. She made him feel exposed. He didn't like that feeling. Like she could see right through him.

The girl stared at Harry for only a second longer before turning her attention to Hermione.

"I've heard about you, Hermione Granger. Ginny Weasley speaks very highly of you. She says you're extremely intelligent. Do you believe her?" This Luna character asked.

She seemed so like an innocent child, asking questions to gain knowledge, not to make others squirm. Hey eyes were soft, and yet sharp as they focused on Hermione. They seemed to turn her over, examine every inch of her. They caused Hermione's breath to quicken with worry that this Luna would find something unworthy or dirty in her. And then, the examination was over. She turned her attention to Ron. Hermione didn't know if she was glad or not that those eyes had turned away.

"Ronald Weasley. Ginny's your sister, right? And Fred and George, the silly twins, they're your brothers? And Percy, the Head Boy? Him as well, right?" Luna asked.

Her eyes opened up and enveloped Ron until he felt he was swimming in an ocean of blue, blue eyes. He felt he could stay in there all day, hardly breathing, falling deeper and deeper into oblivion. And then the warmth and deepness they brought were suddenly gone as Harry bumped him. She was waiting for an answer.

"Uhm, yeah. They're my brothers and sister. I also have two older brothers, Charlie and Bill. They're out of Hogwarts, though." Ron said lamely.

The girl nodded and looked back up at the ceiling once more. The trio stood awkwardly, wondering what to say or do.

"Well, I'd best be off. Ginny is waiting for me in the library."

And with a small, sweet farewell, the girl with the dreamy expression and mystical eyes floated off toward the library. As soon as she was out of sight, Harry and Hermione shrugged and continued on their way to the Great Hall. Ron stood watching the place she had disappeared from for a few seconds longer. Then, with a swift glance at the ceiling, he followed Harry and Hermione into the Great Hall.

..

The school was a buzz with chatter about Luna Lovegood. She had arrived at the school this year, unexpectedly. Rumors flew about the school like wildfire, catching wind and growing more outrageous with the more people it touched. People craned their necks in the hallways just to catch a glimpse of her infamous eyes, long blonde hair, and dreamy air about her.

Besides that, she wore strange clothing that caused heads to turn as she walked about the corridors. One day it was what looked like radish earrings, the next it was a butterbeer cork necklace. She liked to wear long, flowing Muggle skirts and dresses when she was not in lessons. While most opted for dull colours that blended in, she liked to shine in bright pastels, primary, and unidentifiable colours.

She was much too bold for a fourth year. She was constantly waving to sixth years and even seventh years. She smiled at the Slytherins. For sure, no one had ever seen such a confident Ravenclaw, and the school was unsure of how to deal with her eccentric ways.

The other Ravenclaws didn't know how to react to her. She was intelligent and always asking questions that others had never even thought to ask. Some teachers didn't even know the answers themselves! She was also very imaginative, telling stories about Crumple-Horned Snorcacks and Wrackspurts and Nargle-infested mistletoe.

The Gryffindors admired her bravery to be whatever she wanted to be, but were still awed by her unusual taste in everything. The Hufflepuffs warmed to her caring nature, like children to a soft, loving mother-like creature. They, too, were slightly wary of her, though. The Slytherins tried to ignore her. She was too different for them. She focused too much attention on herself, and Slytherins loved attention. After a time, they began to call her "Loony" Lovegood, even to her face, to which she would smile and walk away, untouched.

And she absorbed information like a sponge. She seemed to know everyone's names and the names of their brothers and sisters. She was constantly stopping a depressed person in the hall and asking, "How is Sally-Anne?" or "How's Georgina doing?" and giving out tissues.

Contrary to popular belief, she did carry a wand (11.3", Cherrywood, with a unicorn hair core), and was particularly good with Charms. Though she succeeded in all her lessons, the art of potion-making astounded her. It caught the Gryffindors' attention when they had class with the Ravenclaws one day.

Ginny Weasley alternately glanced in her cauldron and at the textbook beside it. She could not, for the life of her, figure out why a potion that should be turning a pale blue was in reality a bubbling green. Professor Snape sneered down at her pathetic excuse for an assignment.

"You were supposed to add the porcupine quills before the beaver spleen. Try reading the directions next time." He said coolly and softly, making her bubbling potion disappear from her cauldron. "Two points from Gryffindor for you apparent lack of eyesight."

He walked over to Luna's table. Ginny watched the poor girl and hoped for the best.

"Place some of your finished potion into a vial and bring it up to my desk," he announced to the class.

Luna poured a bit of her pale, blue potion into a vial and brought it before the Professor. She turned quickly to go back to her seat.

"Lovegood, are you entirely certain that you brewed this potion yourself in the allotted time period to make said potion?"

The 4th year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws held their breath, hoping for the best and expecting the worst.

"Yes, sir," she said confidently.

There was no quiver or quaver in her voice. No hint to suggest that there was ever a chance of her brewing the potion before class. She looked directly into his small, beady, black eyes. She held an air of intelligence and poise, so different from her dreamy, almost transparent but definitely solid way.

With a nod of his head, his greasy hair falling forward to cover most of his face, he dismissed her. She walked calmly back to her seat, smiling all the way.

Did she know that she had managed to unravel a teacher as hard as stone and as cold as ice? Was she aware that she was making history? No one but herself could ever really know the answer.

..

Something that Luna had started making a ritual of was singing. On the first day of school, she had taken out her wand and made some swishy motions with it. None of the students had seen it before. Suddenly, music blew from it. Just a soft humming or a gentle strumming of a guitar. She was walking around the tomb-silent Great Hall, observing each of the student's faces as she walked by. She looked deep into every pair of eyes as if to say "Hello, I'm looking at you. Yes, you."

As she passed close to the Gryffindor table, Ron panicked. What if she was looking for him?! It wasn't possible, of course, but still. As she grew nearer, it seemed as though they were the only two people in the room. Her eyes seemed to rest on him, shrouding him in deep, almost sensual blue. She was yards away, but seemed inches apart. He couldn't stand the closeness. He turned to look at his meal and Harry, who was sitting across from him. He could feel her eyes on his back. As she walked behind him (did she pause?!) Harry waggled his fingers at her and mouthed "Hi Luna." She wafted by and moved on. She hadn't been looking for him. He didn't know if he was relieved or put-off by this discovery.

She walked along the rest of the tables and then, suddenly, stopped at the Hufflepuff table, directly in front of Ernie Macmillan. His face was beet red as she started to hum a very familiar tune. Her wand made swishy movements again and the entire student body watched breathlessly as the "Happy Birthday" song poured out of it. He seemed to sink lower and lower in the bench as she sang out the popular celebration tune.

When she got to the name, she didn't just say "Errr-nieee", she opted for "ErnieMacmiiiillaaaan" instead. At this point, Ron was sure than Ernie was silently praying to spontaneously combust or have the ability to sink feet-first into the ground. But when the song was over, the Hall erupted in a deafening cheer that came not only from the students, but from the staff as well.

From that day forward, every lunch she sang to at least one student. After a few weeks, others began to join in with Luna.

Then, one day, Draco Malfoy and his notorious group of Slytherin bullies made themselves known to Luna. She was walking all alone in the middle of a corridor when Draco stopped her. Several students, including the Gryffindor trio, stopped to watch.

"This is Pansy," Draco said, jerking a thumb to a pug-faced girl chewing bubble-gum on his right. Luna looked into the girl's face, then back at Draco.

"Yes," she said.

"Yeah, well, my birthday's tomorrow," Pansy said. Luna smiled happily.

"I know."

This didn't help Luna's case at all. Ron took a step forward, but Hermione held him back.

"Well, don't even try to sing to me, you got it?" Pansy asked, leaning close to Luna.

Luna blinked slowly. It was then that Ron insanely realized that Luna didn't blink as much as normal people.

"Ok," she said softly. "I won't sing to you."

Smirking, the Slytherin group walked down the corridor and out of sight. Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the corridor quickly, heading for their Charms classroom.

After Charms, the trio went to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. They sighed as they looked out the window and it was raining. And then, someone was looking out the window. They whispered to some people and then a large group formed around the windows.

Ron and Harry got up to look, while Hermione rolled her eyes. There, outside in the rain was Luna. She was dancing.

..

The next day seemed to be tense from the beginning. Everyone woke up and looked over their backs the whole time. It was Pansy's birthday, meaning she got whatever she wanted from her Slytherin friends and made everyone else bow down before her. The corridors were buzzing with conversation. Everyone, it seemed, was waiting for lunch time. Even Professor McGonagall, who taught the Gryffindors before lunch on this particular day, seemed to be eyeing the clock.

Finally, the bell rang. No one held up the corridors. Everyone was going to be in lunch for the whole time today. Conversation was small, if there at all. Luna entered looking like her usual, chipper self. She sat down next to some other Ravenclaw girls, who seemed to edge away from her a little.

The doors banged open. Pansy, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle, and Theodore Nott all walked in the Great Hall in a perfect formation. They headed for the Slytherin table, pushing people out of their way.

Conversation had stopped. No one dared eat anything crunchy. Everyone was watching Luna, waiting. Ron presumed no one dared breathe audibly, for fear of missing something. Indeed, it seemed as well that some students daren't blink, because anything could happen in those precious milliseconds it took to refresh one's eyes.

Suddenly, Luna stood, as she did every day, and took out her wand. Several students gasped, and were promptly told to "Shush!!" by nearby students, breathless and blink-less. Pansy shoveled food into her mouth ferociously, her back stiffening as she heard the opening music to the birthday song.

Luna walked around the Great Hall as usual, the music waiting for her voice to join it. She walked by the Slytherin table. Pressure and tension built, and Ron half-wished someone would scream, just to let the apprehension become less tangible. But then, Luna passed by Pansy. She walked by the Ravenclaw table, smiling to her school mates. She passed by the Hufflepuff table quietly, the music still waiting. She neared the Gryffindor table. She was searching. Those blue, blue eyes scanned the table, searching searching searching...

And then, as predicted an earlier time, she stopped right in front of Ron. This time he didn't turn away. She sat and watched her sing "Happy Birthday". And, sure enough, when she reached the part that is usually filled with someone's name, she belted out "Pansy Parkinsooooooon!" The rest of the Hall joined her in the last line of the song, singing pointedly to Ron Weasley, not to Pansy. When it was over, Pansy and her group left the room, having nothing to say to the spectacular display of Luna's loopholes.

Hermione and Harry clapped loudly with the rest of the Hall's cheers. After the excitement and praises had finished raining down on Luna, Harry jerked a thumb at Ron.

"Why him?" He asked.

Luna studied him, as if wondering the same thing. Ron felt his face heat up. What if she said it had been an accident, and she had been looking for Fred or George?! Finally, after what felt a lifetime, she smiled. It wasn't her constant, dreamy smile. It was an amused smile. Ron hoped she wasn't laughing at him in her head...

She leaned over and stroked his cheek softly.

"He's cute," she said, still smiling. Then she turned and went to class.

Harry laughed with Fred, George, and Ginny. Hermione stared at Ron's cheek, as if unable to believe what had just happened. Ron watching Luna leave, then watched the door where she had just exited.

_He's cute..._

For the rest of the day, Ron walked around in a goofy haze. He felt as though he were a couple inches off the ground, which could have been due to the fact that he was at least a head taller than most in the halls. Harry and Hermione had given up trying to talk to him, as he had nearly always replied with a dreamy, "What? Hmm? You say something?" He was utterly hopeless in Potions, causing Professor Snape to give him extra homework and take off 5 points from Gryffindor. But he didn't seem to mind.

Slytherins taunted him in the hallways.

"Hey, Weasley, when you and Loony get married, will you move into her house and continue running the 'family business' after her dear old dad dies?"

"_Cute?!_ A _Weasley?_ She really is Loony."

"Loony and the Weasley sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a Nargle in the baby carriage!"

But for some reason, these things did little to puncture Ron's high. Hermione kept whispering unneeded advice like "Just ignore them," and "They're really stupid is all." And the end of the day, Ron went to sleep with a smile on his face for the first time in a long time.

..

The next day, Ron was feeling very chipper, but no more than usual. He started paying attention to Harry and Hermione again, much to their appreciation. The Slytherins continued to taunt him, and he felt it getting harder and harder to shrug off.

He went through his lessons as usual. He paid attention in Potions (intelligently, too, as they were studying complex potions that day), Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology. But in Divination, however, he let the fumes and heat from the fire take him away to distant thoughts. Halfway through his daydreams, Harry nudged him under the table. Trelawney was asking him a question.

"I'm sorry, what?" Ron asked, trying to sound truly excited.

"I asked you if your mother was doing quite well this day?" She asked with fear gripping her voice. Ron shrugged.

"I don't know. I wouldn't worry about her, though. She's tough, my mum. I feel sorry for the bloke that tries to do her in," Ron said contradictorily.

Harry convincingly turned a laugh into a grunt. Trelawney walked away, wondering what had happened. She continued on with her lesson, but only half-heartedly. Ron didn't care. Neither did Harry, who was still chortling.

They went back to their common room after an uneventful dinner. They finished their unusually light load of homework fairly quickly. Harry stood and stretched.

"Best be off to bed. Long day tomorrow," he said and went up the stairs yawning.

Ron laid his quill down and walked over to the window to look out. It was a beautiful, cloudless night and the moon was low in the sky and yellow, just above the lake. He looked over the sweeping grounds from the lake to the Forbidden Forrest and sighed. Suddenly, he had the insane idea to go out and take a walk on the grounds. At first he dismissed the silly thought. Then, after thinking for a while, ran upstairs. Harry was nearly asleep.

"Harry. Harry?" Ron whispered in the dark.

He heard a muffled grunt.

"Can I borrow the cloak?" Ron asked.

Harry threw and arm up and waved him away, grunting again. Ron took that to be yes. He picked up the soft material that was the Invisibility Cloak and shrugged it on. He clambered out of the portrait hole and the Fat Lady merely sighed.

"Best be sure Filch doesn't catch you, then," she said before falling asleep again.

Ron heeded her advice by taking the short way out of the castle.

He reached the lake easily and without running into Peeves, Filch, or Mrs. Norris. He looked out over the water and felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Abruptly, he heard a rustle of what sounded like a cloak on the grass. He turned slowly on the spot and saw Luna looking right at him.

Of course, she was just looking at the moon through him, but it was still an odd feeling. She smiled wistfully and floated away from the sight. Ron thought about following her. He probably shouldn't and yet, he couldn't resist. He followed behind her, making sure he was well covered and making the least amount of noise possible.

He followed her slowly past the lake and past the castle walls. She walked down by Hagrid's hut and walked right by it. Then he saw her duck into the Forbidden Forest. He hesitated for only a second before trailing after her.

She was walking slowly, as if on a nighttime stroll, so he knew she wasn't meeting anyone in the forest. She seemed to be enjoying herself in the dark and scary woods and Ron nearly laughed out loud at the thought. But he didn't want to break this spell. Shuffling and whispers in the trees gave Ron goose-bumps all over, but Luna seemed perfectly normal. Or as normal as Luna could get.

Finally, they came to a clearing that seemed almost normal in this setting. Moonlight dappled down from behind the trees and filtered through to the ground. Luna went to the middle of the clearing and sat down. Ron stood a ways away just observing the peculiar sight. She crossed her legs and closed her eyes. Ron dared not move. For what seemed hours on end, she sat. Ron shifted slightly; his feet were getting tired. But he stayed where he was, watching Luna. He could swear she almost had a transparent glow to her, but he knew it couldn't be so.

After a while, color flooded her cheeks. She looked refreshed and full to the brim with excitement. She stood up and danced around a little. Then she looked over to where Ron stood.

"You can come out now, Ronald," she said softly.

Ron had a mini panic-attack inside of him. How was it possible that she knew he was there? He must have made a noise or something. He stopped thinking about it and walked forward. Remembering the invisibility cloak, he swept it off with a flourish.

"Hi, Luna."

* * *

A/N: That's the end of the first chapter!! Hope you all like it so far (I know it's no Malignant Narcissism, but it's a fine substitute, right?) R&R, perchance??


	2. Popularity

Midnight strolls, Popularity, and Surprise

A/N: Ok, so here's the second chapter of Look for the Girl with a Broken Smile. Hope it gets more interesting as we move on. On with the show! (As I'm known to say XD hahaha) Oh and uh I lied earlier. There's a bit of slash but it's only in the background and only there because I was bored? Sorry to deceive you...

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I'm just a big fan. I don't own Stargirl, either.

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Luna looked at him without surprise. She knew it had been him somehow. And she didn't seem interested in his invisibility cloak. She regarded him with curiosity, though.

"You followed me here."

It wasn't a question. She knew. He nodded anyway.

"Why?" She asked, truly wondering.

She stepped toward him and looked into his eyes. Again, Ron had the impression that he was swimming in the depth of her eyes. He mentally took a step back from her eyes.

"I was curious. I wanted to know where you were going so late at night," he said honestly.

She nodded understandingly.

"I know about curiosity. It's a wonderful thing. It's only when you feel curious that you know you're alive!" She said, throwing her hands in the air and spinning wildly.

Ron stood, looking dazedly at her, not knowing what to say. She stopped abruptly and staggered a little before grinning up and him and gesturing to the clearing.

"I come here nearly every night," she confessed.

"Why?"

"It's kind of hard to explain..." She said, looking a little embarrassed.

Ron sat on the ground just as she had been doing earlier.

"Then show me," he said genuinely.

It was true that he had no idea why he was there or why he had come out of hiding or why he was now sitting on the floor of the Forbidden Forest. It just felt right. Luna sat down next to him and told him to close his eyes.

"Now, try not to think about breathing. Try not to think about anything. Make yourself disappear. I like to pretend that I have a giant eraser and I start erasing a little bit of me at a time. I start from my feet, up my legs, to my chest, and then to my eyes. My brain is always the hardest to erase. There's always so much going on in there. But, in the end, I always manage to erase my whole self." She ended happily.

"And then where are you?" He asked worriedly.

He wasn't afraid of melting away into nothingness, he just didn't know where nothingness was. And that's what really scared him. His silly, almost childish question was met with a small chuckle.

"Everything. You suddenly become part of the air, the trees, the mountains beyond, the oceans further than that, and, eventually, the whole world," she said matter-of-factly.

"So, I sit like this, close my eyes, and 'erase' myself?" Ron asked, demonstrating.

"Yes, just like that."

They sat side by side. After a while, Ron opened his eyes, frustrated. He couldn't do it. He could barely erase a single pinky toe before it popped back into place. He never was really aware of his body before that time. He glanced over at Luna. She seemed a little washed-out, even transparent, like she had before. He watched her with jealousy. He tried it again. He sat very still, letting his body breathe automatically. He let his whole foot disappear. Then his leg. Then another foot. And then, a scuffle happened nearby and Ron's feet and leg came back almost painfully as he wrenched open his eyes to look around.

He looked over to Luna and she was gone. He gaped for a while at the place where she should have been. Then he heard a giggle. He turned around and there she was, watching him.

"I got you," she said laughing heartily.

Ron stood up, embarrassed.

"I suppose you play that trick on all the boys you lead into these woods," he said slyly.

That stopped her giggles. She looked down at her feet and shuffled them in the dirt.

"You seem to think that I have a lot of friends, Ronald."

He simply looked at her, amazed. He was unable to comprehend the fact that the girl everybody talked about had no friends at all. He merely could not believe it.

"Don't you?" He asked without thinking.

She looked up at him and tried to smile, but there were tears in her eyes. Surely someone such as her could never cry! Ron was taken aback at the amazingly human tendency that she showed. Of course, he knew she was human – didn't he?

"I'm sorry, Luna. I just thought – well, with you being so popular and all..."

He scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to do or say. He felt awkward in his own body. She finally shook her head and smiled at him, the dreamy state back on her face.

"That's all right. You know, I think you nearly had it, Ronald. When we were erasing ourselves? I felt your presence following mine. Just a small part, mind you, but enough so I could tell it was you," and she was off, wandering through the trees.

Ron picked up the invisibility cloak and hurried after her.

They talked and walked. They walked and talked. Luna would see something, anything, and grab Ron and say "Look! Over there!" The first couple of times he jumped and pulled out his wand. After a while, he would simply turn and look at whatever she saw. One time it was a tree that reminded her of a small house. She wondered openly if some small, magical, unknown creature lived in it and if he was glad she remarked on its excellence. One time it was a leaf that had fallen. They watched it fall slowly until it met up with another falling leaf and they fluttered down together, as if chasing each other. She mused that they were leaves from different trees that had fallen in love, doomed to look upon each other, but never be with each other until they fell together happily, dead, from the tree that tethered them to life and misery. Ron hardly noticed when the sun rose over the mountains and gave new life to the forest. Although, it made it easier to see the things she pointed out. He found he was enjoying himself a lot, walking and talking and looking with Luna Lovegood, the weird girl at school.

"Look, Ronald!" She said, remarking on the sunrise.

They clambered out of the forest and found themselves very far from the castle indeed. But they didn't care. They sat in silence upon a smooth, flat rock, watching the sun paint the sky. He heard her sigh and she leaned her head o his shoulder.

"I like watching the sunrise with you, Luna," Ron remarked, amazed at his own casualness.

Actually, to tell the truth, he didn't know when he had ever in his life watched the sunrise, alone or with another person. It was nice. He felt as though he had no problems in his life in that moment. It wasn't until after the sun was over the mountains and had turned the sky a pale blue that he realized where he was.

"We have to get back," Ron said, not making a move to get up.

"Yes, it's Friday. Can't miss that Arithmancy test," she said dreamily.

She stood up quickly and they chased each other back to the castle. They entered the Great Hall laughing and gasping for breath. He smiled and gave her a wink.

"I'll see you later, Luna. Thanks for last night," he said.

She gave him a small, very chaste kiss on the cheek and walked calmly over to the Ravenclaw table. As soon as Ron sat down at the Gryffindor table, the fact that he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep that night caught up to him. He yawned hugely and felt his eyes droop. There were roughly three Gryffindors at the table. The early risers. They looked at Ron and whispered behind their hands to each other. They had never seen him at the table this early. He laid his head down on the table for only a second...

BANG!

Ron's head shot up and he looked at the great doors, which had been thrown open. Hermione was walking with an irritated Harry. She seemed to be mumbling in his ear. Draco Malfoy and his lackeys came in not three seconds later, taunting Harry with words that didn't reach Ron's ears. He did hear Harry shout back "Sod off, Malfoy!" before Hermione dragged him to sit over by Ron.

"Hiya, Harry. Here's your invisibility cloak. Sorry I never returned it," Ron said, handing it to him under the table.

Hermione looked at Ron suspiciously. Harry shoved the cloak into his bag rather forcibly.

"What happened?" Ron asked Hermione, motioning to the Slytherin table.

"Oh, it's just Malfoy taunting Harry as usual," Hermione said, going pink.

Harry didn't say a word. He continued to glare at the Slytherin table. He apparently didn't notice that he was turning his biscuit to crumbs. Ron didn't mention it again. They ate in silence as the Great Hall filled and emptied itself of students. Finally, Harry turned to Ron.

"Where did you go last night? I think I remember you asking to borrow my cloak, but where'd you go?" He asked.

Ron shot a look to the Ravenclaw table, and then at Hermione, who was eavesdropping conspicuously.

"I'll tell you later."

Harry was content to leave it at that. Ron ate everything in sight that had sugar in it. Hermione... well, Hermione just glared at Ron. All breakfast. Finally, the bell rang. Ron and Harry and Hermione headed to the dungeons for double potions with the Slytherins. Harry was positively shaking with anger as he watched Malfoy out of the corner of his eye. Ron had never seen Harry so angry. However, his fabulous night with Luna made it impossible for him to understand that other people were having a bad day. Even his potion turned out as good as, if not better than, Hermione's.

Next was Charms. They worked on their new spell quietly, which was a first for them. Ron asked Harry about any news from Sirius, but he only grumbled something about Hedwig and 5 days. After that, he decided to stop trying to make small talk.

Instead, he looked around at stuff. He never realized how much _stuff _was in the castle before! A simple tapestry that he used to pass on his way to Transfiguration without a second thought now stood out to him, begging to be pondered over. Portraits seemed to stand out to him and he longed to have conversations with the people in the paintings, to find out why they were so important to be put in the castle.

Every time he saw Luna, she always stole away from anyone she was talking with to plant that small, chaste kiss onto his cheek. Then he would walk away, half bemused, half embarrassed, and 100 Luna-fied, as he liked to say.

"Luna-fied?" Harry asked with disbelief and a smidgen of disgust.

"Yeah, I like it. It's perfect," Ron said, trying desperately to defend himself.

Harry chuckled, "What's your damage, Ron? Never thought I'd see the day when you'd fall for Luna Lovegood!"

He walked away, still chortling. Ron sank into a chair by the fire. Was he falling for Luna? He didn't know. Everything seemed to be happening so fast. And yet, it felt as though it was years ago that she had sung to him in the Great Hall. He sighed, watching the flames dance merrily in the hearth, pondering his dilemma. He sat watching that fire for what he guessed to be hours, though time flew by easily, like the whisper of a second. He sat and wondered, trying to understand what he felt for Luna. He supposed there was attraction, yes. There was also a fondness for her proximity. He just liked being around her.

But, so did a lot of people these days. It seemed as though overnight, every girl in the school decided they wanted to be just like Luna. Suddenly everyone knew how to make music come out of their wands. Lowerclassmen talked easily with 6th and 7th years. When it rained, at least a dozen girls joined Luna's dancing. And Luna was happy because she had an array of friends from girls who wanted to be just like her to guys who wanted to be with her.

Ron tried in vain to tell himself that the burning in the pit of his stomach was from indigestion or something, but even Ginny could tell he was suffering from jealousy. He couldn't stand it anymore. He pulled Luna aside one day, kissed her on the cheek, and said softly in her ear "Meet me tonight at the place," and strode off quickly. He was fairly sure she knew what he meant.

When he arrived at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, he had to kick himself to motivate the energy to go into the place. He waited in the clearing, nursing the back of his leg as he sat. A few minutes later, Luna came in through the bushes, looking as if she had stumbled across the clearing by accident. Ron walked over to her and smiled.

"Hi, Luna."

They walked and they talked like they had before. He didn't get to spend much time with her, so he didn't really know what her reaction was to the sudden onslaught of friends and admirers.

"It's really nice. Everyone is always talking to me or trying to talk to me. It's so much different than it was before. I like it," she mused.

Ron nodded, feeling guilty that he had been jealous of her affections to other people. And then he realized that he didn't know much about her at all. He looked at her differently, as if she were suddenly bathed in a new light.

"Luna, where did you come from? I mean, were you going to Beauxbatons or something?" He asked inquiringly.

"No. I was home-schooled by my parents. My mother died when I was 9 and I continued to be taught by my father until this year. I begged him to let me come here. At first I thought it was a dreadful mistake." She turned to look at him, "No one liked me, you see." And they kept walking.

Ron blushed at her bluntness. It was, truly, one of Luna's finer qualities, though. He loved how she said what she meant and what was true without thinking about what others would think of her.

"And now?" He asked.

"Now I'm glad I came." She replied.

..

Everything was going splendidly for Luna and Ron. They had begun to be closer in public and the student body started to make assumptions that were mostly true. They were seeing one another and they did really like each other. They never did more than just a simple kiss on the cheek, but it was enough for Ron.

One day, as Ron was sitting quietly in the common room, humming a happy tune to himself and reading a Quidditch book, Harry came storming in. He looked like everything that could go bad just had. Ron put his book down and looked over at the fuming Gryffindor.

"Harry, what's going on? This isn't the first time I've seen you stomping around, moping and grumbling to yourself. I figured you'd tell me when the time was right and I think that time is now," Ron said sternly.

Harry shot Ron a glare that could have frightened even Voldemort away, but Ron merely lifted an eyebrow.

"I just had a row with bloody Malfoy again, that's all," Harry said.

If Ron wasn't Harry's best mate, he wouldn't have noticed how the insult to Malfoy's name came out more bitter than usual. If he hadn't been Harry's best mate, he would have missed the slight blush that crept up Harry's face. If he weren't Harry's best mate, he would have assumed Malfoy had come up with a brilliant insult that Harry hadn't been able to come back from and hexes had been thrown. As it were, Ron knew there was something more that Harry wasn't telling him. He smiled, remembering how Hermione had once remarked on his inability to understand human emotions.

"That's all, eh?" Ron asked softly.

For a moment, nothing happened. And then, suddenly without warning, Harry leaned forward and grabbed Ron to face him.

"I have a serious problem, Ron," he said quietly and strained.

Ron looked around but only Fred and George seemed to be remaining in the common room.

"What is it, Harry?" Ron asked back, equally as quiet.

Harry bit his lip and shyly looked down at his feet. He then shot Fred and George a quick look and, feeling they were good and preoccupied, he leaned in a tad closer.

"I think I'm falling for someone," Harry said.

Ron threw his head back and laughed. Fred and George looked up from their latest project to give him a cursory smile before turning back to the table. Harry blushed slightly again and that set Ron roaring with laughter again.

"You needn't be so dramatic about it, Harry! It's not the end of the world," Ron said, wiping tears from his eyes.

"It is!" Harry hissed.

"I assure you, it can't be that bad, Harry, you're just overreacting and –"

He pulled Ron close again and opted to whisper in his ear.

"I'm falling for Draco Malfoy."

* * *

A/N: SORRY!! I told you it was gonna happen, though. But I didn't know it was gonna happen and it has nothing to do with Ron or Luna but I just wanted something to happen besides Ron/Luna (as cute as they are...)


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